Material handling apparatus



Nov. 12, 1940;

v v; L.-JOHANNES$EN MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS Filed May 5, 1958 INVENTOR l! L. JOHANNESSEN A TI'ORNEY Patented Nov. 12, 1940 PATENT c ICE 2,221,543 MATERIAL HANDLING macros Vaughn L. Johannessen,

to Western Electric Crani'ortl, N. 3., assignor @ompany, Incorporated,

New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 5, 193%, Serial No. 2616,1 1

17 @llaims.

This invention relates to a material handling apparatus and. more particularly to a reversible rewinding apparatus for handling material while being tested for possible defects.

In the manufacture of strand or sheet material it is often desirable to transfer such material from one reel or arbor to another, as, for example, when testing the material for possible cleiects. When the material is thus movecl rela= tive to a testing device means is sometimes employeol to indicate any eleiects in the material, but in some cases before the advancement of the material in one direction can be stopped so that the operator may mend or remove the defective por tion, that portion has movecl an unknown dis tance beyond; the point of indication and possibly upon the take-up reel. in such and other in stances it is desirable to reverse the direction or": movement of the material to locate the defective portion.

An object of the invention is to provide a sinipie, efiective and practical material handling a o-- parstus.

With this and other objects in view the in vention comprises a pair of reels driven by separate electric motors energized by variable elec trical circuits which may be transferred from one motor to the other to reverse the direction oi rotation of the reels, the speed of the reels being controlled by units dependent upon the direction of rotation of the reels.

Other objects and advantages will be ent from the following detailed elescriptio: in conjunction the accompanying crawl wherein Fig. l is a schematic plan view of the apparatus and the control circuits therefor;

Fig. 2 is a front elevaticrial view of the struc ture shown in Fig. i;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view talren substantially along the line Fig. 1;

Fig. tional View and 1 Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional View taken along the line 5--t of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawing, there are shown reels l0 and ii removably secured to drive shafts ill and i3, respectively, by shy suitable lite? s. In the present embodiment cone shaped elements M fixed to the shafts are receivable in the hubs of the reels at one side of the latter, and other cone shapeol elements ill positioned to engage the hubs at the opposite sides of the reels ai'itl l is an enlarged fragmentary one". elevataken along the line i-l of Fig. 3,

(Cl. Ett -45 acljustably movable by any suitable means (not shown) cause a gripping of the reels between the sets of cones i l and G5. The reels may support any suitable material which is to be tested, or transferred from one reel to the other, in the present embodiment th e being shown strand material indicated at ll. which may pass from one reel to other over guide rollers ill to sheaves is of control arias it and El. Equitable stops are positioned to limit the outward movement of the tension arms.

distributing unit is provided for each reel and consists of guide movable by the guide elements it] to uniformly distribute the material ugoon whichever reel the material is be ing Wound. Ally conventional distributing means may be employed, it being important, however, that the fingers i l be movable into and. out of operative positions as illustrated in 2', there being shown hook members 26 to support the guide fingers when in operative positions. distributing units are driven through chain and sproclret coruiections from the drive shafts l2 and Pins carried. by the shafts or the spree: ets mounted upon the shafts are positioned to have their free ends re-= celvable in apertmes the adjacent heads of the reels to assure positive striving connection between the drive sha of the reels.

s ialts 9 l3 are driven direct y 33 such are two elec "ical on of which may "ice either motor. Each I or variable circ ts Izl l and. ns, namely the ole transformers and variable resistances, it 5 possible to control the inc-tors so that they v .ll be supplies with the ole sired. variable electrical energy. This variation in the drive of the two motors is desirable to cause the take-up reel to rotate slightly in acivance oi the supply reels to maintain a suitable tension upon the material passing from one reel to the other. Therefore, one circuit, for example, circuit fi l, may be adjusted and termed. a sup-ply reel circuit and t e circuit may be ad" justecl and termed a talze-up reel circuit. circuit 3:1 is connected. electrically to the motor and one or this circuit may be traced from leacl 39 of a supply circuit through the primary winding oi the transformer to the local it. Another of circuit 354 is traced from The the secondary winding of the transformer through conductors 4i and 42, switch 43, conductor 44, through the motor 33, conductor 4!. switch 46, conductor 41, and the variable resistance 31 to the secondary winding of the transformer. In a similar manner the circuit 33 is electrically connected to the motor 32. The primary winding of the transformer 33 of circuit 35 is connected to the leads 33 and 43. The other portion of circuit 35 is traced from the secondary winding of the transformer 30 through conductors SI and II, switch 52, conductor 33, through the motor 32, conductor 54, switch 35, conductors it and 51, through the variable resistance, back to the secondary winding of the transformer. The switches 43, 46, I2 and B5 are connected to an actuating bar 30 which is operatively connected to one end of a bell crank lever OI, pivoted at 62, the opposite end thereof being connected to a pull rod 83 to provide manual actuating means for moving the switches simultaneously from their solid line positions to the dotted line positions shown in Fig. 1. When the switches are thus moved the circuit 34 will be electrically connected to the motor 32 and the circuit 35 to the motor 33. The portion of circuit 34 may be traced from the secondary winding of the variable transformer, through conductor 4i, switch 55, conductor 54, through the motor 32, conductor 53, switch 62, conductor 65 and variable resistance to the secondary winding of the transformer. The portion of circuit 35 with the switches 43 and 46 in the dotted line positions may be traced from the secondary winding of its transformer through conductor 50, switch 46, conductor 45, through the motor 33, conductor 44, switch 43, conductor 51, and through the variable resistance to the secondary winding of the transformer. The transferring of the circuits from one motor to the other causes reversal of the motors to drive the reels in opposite directions, thus converting a supply reel to a takeup reel and vice versa.

Means controlled by the tension of the material I! for varying the speed of rotation of the drive shafts is illustrated in Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5. This means consists of braking units having stationary housings 65 mounted upon suitable supports 68 and having hollow portions disposed concentrically with the drive shafts. Disposed in these hollow portions are friction plates 61 held against movement and interposed between movable friction plates 68 carried by and rotatable with their respective drive shaft. Keyed to each drive shaft so as to cause rotation thereof during rotation of the shafts to permit axial movement thereof relative to each shaft is a pressure head 69 to force the friction plates 61 and 68 into intimate engagement, resulting in a braking means for each shaft. A helical compression spring mounted concentrically with each shaft manually urges its respective pressure head 69 toward the friction plates. A grooved collar 13 integral with or fixed to each pressure head 69 receives an eccentric cam 14, mounted rigidly upon one end of a shaft 15 which is journalled in a suitable support, the opposite end of the shaft having fixed thereto a slotted lever 16. Movably disposed in the slot of the lever I6 is a spring pin I8 to which one end of a spring 19 is secured, the opposite end of the spring being secured to one end of a toggle lever 80 pivoted at 8|, the opposite end of the toggle lever being connected to the tension arm 20 or 2! through a spring 32. The braking means for each shaft is identical in construction, the only difference being in their actuation and control, one being controlled through the movement of the tension arm 20 and the other being controlledthrough the movement of the tension arm 2|. The levers l6 and the slots therein are arcuate in general contour. The spring pins 13 movably carried by these levers It may be moved from one end thereof to the other and in so doing vary the resulting action of its respective control arm thereupon. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the spring pin 18 adjacent motor 32 is shown in its uppermost position, whereas the spring pin adjacent motor 33 is in its lowermost position, these positions being controlled by a lever 35 pivoted at 36 to any suitable support, operatively connected to the pull rod 63 at 81, and having its ends slotted to receive the outer ends of the pins 18 to move them from upper to lower positions relative to their levers 16 through the movement of the pull rod.

The apparatus as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is conditioned to cause the reels to be rotated through the energization of the motors in clockwise directions (Fig. 2), the supply circuit 34 being electrically connected to the motor 33, the supply circuit 35 being electrically connected to the motor 32 and the distributing fingers 24 for the reel H being held in operative position. When the apparatus is thus set in operation the strand material ll will be moved to the left from the reel H over the sheave I! of the tension arm 2| around the sheave of the tension arm 20 downwardly around the roller l8 of the reel i0, where the strand will be distributed upon the reel III by means of the distributing fingers 24 in engagement therewith.

In the present embodiment of the invention it is desirable that both the speed of the strand and the tension thereof, while moving from one reel to the other, be constant. The desired tension on the strand is established by the tension arms 20 and 2| and their associated springs 19 and 82. This desired tension is maintained and the strand is caused to move at a constant speed by the constant H. P. (horse power) motors 32 and 33 and their associated controlling means, namely, the electrical circuits and the braking units. The motors are so designed that throughout their working range the product of the motor torque and the motor speed is constant. The result accomplished by the use of such motors is that the motor speed will decrease comparable to the increase in motor torque and the motor speed will increase comparable to the decrease in motor torque. The torque from each motor varies with variations in the fullness of each reel and the cause for such variations differs for each motor depending upon whether they are rotating a supply reel or a take-up reell The torque of each motor is also affected by the braking means on the motor shafts.

Disregarding the braking means for the moment, consider, first, either one of the motors, for example motor 32, electrically connected to the take-up circuit 35 driving a take-up reel at the beginning of an operation with the reel empty and the strand fixed thereto to begin winding thereon. The torque of the motor 32 when driving this take-up reel is at its minimum, and, as the speed of the motor is controlled, depending upon the motor torque, the maximum motor speed exists at this point in the operation. As the layers of strand on the take-up reel increase, thus increasing the effective radii of the reel, the torque increases due to the increase in load on the reel coupled with the increase in length of the lever arm or the distance from the motor axis to the point where the strand is taken on. Thconstant tension on the strand, coupled with the addeg load as the layers of strand build up on the r e1 during operation, causes an increase in the motor torque, thus causing a decrease in speed. The decrease in motor speed with the increase in reel diameter causes the strand speed tobe constant.

Consider, now, the other motor 33 electrically connected to the supply circuitj34 at the beginning of the operation, with supply reel full of strand material, the take-up reel empty and the strand threaded around the rollers l8 and the sheaves IQ of the tension arms 20 and 2!. At this position in the operation there exists a maximum motor torque and minimum motor speed at the supply end. In order to rotate the supply reel at a speed to allow the strand to advance toward the take-up reel at a predetermined constant speed and constant tension, an electrical current of lower potential than that supplied to till Kid and the springs "iii to the levers it.

the take-up motor is supplied to the supply motor. This is accomplished through the adjustment of the variable transformers 35 and variable resistances 31 in the circuits. As the strand is drawn off the supply reel the motor torque decreases and the motor speed increases.

It is; therefore, possible to control the motors so that both the speed and tension of the strand will be constant. During certain conditions, for example, when the apparatus is started with a slack strand, when slack convolutions appear on the supply reel, or with a. greater tension than desired on the strand, it is desirable to bring about a more rapid adjustment than is possible with the motors. This is accomplished through the braking means and the tension means associated therewith to increase or decrease the motor torque. Through the braking means the motor torque may be increased far beyond the maximum torque resulting from the reel load and the strand tension and the torque may be sufflcient to almost stop either, one of the motors without affecting the motor physically. This makes it possible to slow down the take-up reel even to a stop to allow the motor to the supply 7 to relieve the strand of excess tension. at the same time braking force on the supply motor is removed by the balancing of the springs l9 and iii with spring "ill associated therewith.

.i' the tension on the strand it" should increase beyond the predetermined normal tension the tension arms 2% and 26 will be swung about their pivots toward each other, increasing the tensional force of each spring 32 and transmitting this increased force or pull through the toggle levers The cc of the spring l9 affected the rnove'm t of t tension arm 2i overcomes force sociated spring and causes the mov the associated lever it abo e its in a counter-clockwise direction, cans sociated eccentric earn it to move with its pressure head "59 upwardly to relieve shaft 93 of the braking force. in a anher, but with opposite results, the braking 1 rec to shaft 22 is due to the re ng of the associated lever it couitencloclzw added force of the associated springs 82, forcing its pressure head ii action of the eccentric cam and. collar associated therewith, to increase the frictional g force of the friction pla"es and thus decrease the of rotation of the shaft l2. This action of the braking means for the shafts I2 and I3 brought about through the movement of the tension arms 20 and 2| due to an increase in tension of the strand ll relieves the shaft 13 of whatever bra-k ing force has been applied thereto so as to allow the motor 33 to increase the speed of rotation of the reel H and at the same time the braking force to shaft I2 is increased, causing a decrease in the speed of rotation of the reel l0 until the tension on the strand is again normal, allowing the tension arms to resume their present or normal positions. Therefore, predetermined electrical energies are supplied to the motors, tending to drive them at predetermined variable speeds, and during the rotation of the reels the tension on the strand is maintained substantially constant through the controlling means, namely the motors and the braking means applied to each shaft.

If the operator chooses to reverse the direction of movement of the strand this may be accomplished by merely moving the rod 63 from its solid line position to its doted line position shown in Fig. l. Actuation of this rod automatically transfers circuit 3% from motor 33 to motor 32 but in reverse formation so as to cause the itor 32 to move in a reverse direction. in a similar manner the circuit 35 is transferred from motor 32 to motor The transfer of the circuits from one motor to the other makes it possible to condition the reel it as the take-up reel and the reel it as the supply reel, reversing their direction of rotation and causing a variation in their speed of rotation. Simultaneously with this transferring of the circuits the lever is rocked about its pivot, moving the spring pins to the opposite ends of their levers, for example, moving the spring pin at the left downwardly and the spring pin at right upwardly, so that during the operation of the apparatus in the manner now described an increase in tension of strand ill will cause a decrease in braking force to the shaft i2 and an increase in braking force to the it. Of course, with this arrangement the guide fingers 28 for the reel ii are moved into operative position and the fingers ior the reel it are moved into inoperative position.

During normal operation the tension arm and are positioned away from their stops However, should the tension of the strand be oelow normal the arms will swing outwardly about their pivots, limited, course, by the stops. Such movement of the arm with the arrangement I? shown in Fig. i, will relieve the force of the springs iii and associated with the supply roortOr 3? allowing the associated spring through the it) to decrease the speed c The outward movement of the arm ment with its step will cause sufdcien force to IYie 1d 82 to halal g to free the s allow the speed eed of the reel epa-rted iron n m ways without departoin the spirit nil scope of the invention as ited solely the appended at is claimed is:

1. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of rotatable elements for material, an electric motor operatively connected to each element, variable electrical circuits, and selective means to electrically connect the motors with certain of the circuits to cause each motor to rotate its respective element at a speed differing from the speed of the other element to advance the material from one element to the other and to exchange the circuits for the motors to cause the elements to reverse the direction of advancement of the material.

2. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of rotatable elements for material, an electric motor operatively connected to each element, variable electrical circuits, and selective means to electrically connect the motors with certain of the circuits to cause rotation of the elements to advance the material from one element to the other and to exchange the circuits for the motors to reverse the direction of advancement of the material, variable means associated with each motor to control the speed of rotation of the elements, and means operatively connected to the selective means to cause variation of the said variable means.

3. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of elements rotatable for transferring material from one element to the other, an electric motor for rotating each element, an electrical circuit to energize either motor to render either element a supply element, and a second electrical circuit to energize either motor to render either element a take-up element, the circuits being adjustable to vary the relative speed of the motors.

4. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of elements rotatable for transferring material from one element to the other, an electric motor for rotating each element, an electrical circuit to energize either motor .to render either element a supply element, a second electrical circuit to energize either motor to render either element a take-up element, a speed control unit for each motor, shiftable means controlled by variations in the tension of the material to cause variations in the rotary speed of the elements, and means to transfer the circuits from one motor to the other and to shift the speed control means.

5. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of rotatable elements for material, an electric motor operatively connected to each element, electrical circuits conditioned to supply varying electrical forces to drive the motors, and means to connect the circuits to the motors to cause operation of the motors and elements at different speeds to cause advancement of the material under tension from one element to the other.

6. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of rotatable elements for material, an electric motor operatively connected to each element, electrical circuits conditioned to supply varying electrical forces -to the motors, and means .to selectively connect each circuit to either motor to cause operation of the motors and elements at different speeds to cause advancement of the material under .tension from either element to the other.

7. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of rotatable elements for material, a constant horse power electric motor operatively connected to each element, electrical circuits conditioned to supply varying electrical forces to the motors, and means to connect the circuits to the motors to cause operation of the motors and elements at different speeds to cause advancement of the material under tension from one element to the other.

8. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of rotatable elements for material, a constant horse power electric motor operatively connected to each element, electrical circuits conditioned to supply varying electrical forces to the motors, means to connect the circuits to the motors to cause operation of the motors and elements at different speeds to cause advancement of the material under tension from one element to the other, brake means for each motor, and means controlled by variation in the tension of the material to actuate the brake means to vary the speed of the motors.

9. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of rotatable elements for material, an electric motor operatively connected to each element, electric circuits conditioned to supply varying electrical forces to the motors to cause operation of the motors at different speeds to cause advancement of the material under. tension from one element .to the other, a brake unit for each motor, and means conditioned to selectively cause actuation of the brake units to increase or decrease the braking force to their respective motors during an increase in tension of the material.

10. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of rotatable elements for material, an electric motor operatively connected to each element, electric circuits conditioned to supply varying electrical forces to the motors to cause operation of the motors at different speeds to cause advancement of the material under tension from one element to the other, and actuating means to electrically connect the circuits to the motors to cause operation of the motors and spindles to advance the material under tension in one direction and to transfer the connections of the circuits to 0pposite motors to cause operation of the motors and spindles to advance the material under tension in another direction.

11. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of elements for material, an electric motor operatively connected to each element, electric circuits conditioned to supply varying electrical forces to the motors to cause operation of the motors at different speeds to cause advancement of the material under tension from one element to the other, a brake unitfor each motor, actuating means to electrically connect the circuits to the motors to cause operation of the motors and spindles to advance the material under tension in one direction and to transfer the connections of the circuits to opposite motors to cause operation of the motors and spindles to advance the material under tension in another direction, and means controlled by the actuating means to selectively cause actuation of the brake units to respectively increase and decrease the braking force of their respective motors during an increase in tension of the material dependent upon the direction of advancement of the material.

12. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of elements for material, a motor for each element, two electrical circuits having connections transferable from one motor to the other to selectively supply varying electrical forces to each motor but in reverse order to selectively cause the elements to advance the material in either direction under tension, a brake unit for each motor, shiftable controlling means associated with each brake unit to selectively cause increasing or decreasing force thereof to each motor with increase in tension of the material, and means to transfer the circuit connections to opposite motors and shift the brake controlling means.

13. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of elements rotatable for transferring material from one element to-the other, an electric motor for rotating each element, an electrical circuit to energize either motor to render either element a supply element, and a second electrical circuit to energize either motor to render either element to take-up element and cause the material to travel under tension.

14. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of rotatable elements for transferring material under tension from one to the other, a reversible motor' for rotating each element, two electrical circuits to supply varying electrical forces to the motors, means actuable to electrically connect one of the circuits singly to either motor to render-either element a take-up element and to electrically connect the other circuit to either motor to render either element a supply element, a brake for each motor, a member for each brake movable to release or apply the brakes, and means controlled by variations in the tension of the material to actuate the brakes.

15. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of rotatable elements for transferring material under tension from one to the other, a reversible motor for rotating each element, two electrical circuits to supply varying electrical forces to the motors, means actuable to electrically connect one of the circuits singly to either motor to render either element a take-up element and to electrically connect the other circuit to either motor to render either element a supply element, a brake for each motor, a member for each brake movable to release or apply the brakes, and means actuable by the material during an increase in tension thereof to apply the brake associated with the take-up element and release the brake associated with the supply element.

16. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of rotatable elements for transferring material under tension from one to the other, a reversible motor for rotating each element, two electrical circuits to supply varying electrical forces to the motors, means aotuable to electrically connect one of the circuits singly to either motor to render either element a take-up element and to electrically connect the other circuit to either motor to render either element a supply element, a brake for each motor, a member for each brake movable to release or apply the brakes, shiftable means controlled by variations in ,the tension of the material to move the said-member to actuate the brakes, and means actuable with the means to connect the circuits to shift the said shiftable means.

17. In a material handling apparatus, a pair of rotatable elements for transferring material under tension from one to the other, a reversible motor for rotating each element, two electrical circuits to supply varying electrical forces to the motors, a brake for each motor, and means to selectively connect one of the circuits to either motor to render the element of the selected motor a take-up element and condition the brake of the selected motor to apply braking force upon an increase in tension of the material and simultaneously selectively electrically connect the other circuit to the other motor to render the element thereof a supply element and condition-the brake thereof to release braking force upon its motor an increase in tension of the material.

VAUGHN L. J OHANNESSEN.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,221,515. November 12, 1911.0.

, VAUGHN L. JOHANNESSEN.

It is hereby certified that error appear; in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as foilows: Page 5, first column, line 7, claim l5, f0r "to" second occurrence, read -a--; and that the said Letters\ Patent -should be read with'this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 27th day of May, A. D. 191 1.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No.- 2,221,515; I November 12,- 1914.0.

VAUGHN L. JOHANNESSEN. It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring cori'ection as follows: Page 5, first I column, line 7, claim l5, for "to" second occurrence, read --a--; and that Signed and sealed this 27th day of May, A. D. 19in.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

